Be prepared to be shocked… authors, even the extremely famous ones , are real people – like you and me. I know, shocking huh? 😉

Honestly though, while I’m glued to my computer for my day job, I enjoy listening to interviews with these real people. Their thoughts are inspiring and motivating – especially if you’re a writer too.

I was capitvated by J.K. Rowling’s interview with Oprah (see below). If you have 45 minutes it’s worth the watch (or listen, like I did). If not, I’ve included links to some other famous childrens author interviews I enjoyed (that are a lot shorter).

Be prepared though – you’ll want to write as soon as you’re done listening. Might want to save some time for that for later.

Beverly was a children’s librarian before becoming an author. She got in to writing because the children weren’t satisfied with the books that were available. She never received a rejection letter – ever!

Lois Lowry dropped out of college and finished after he children were all in school. She never submitted a story formally. She was approached by an editor and asked to try writing a story for children – which turned in to her first novel.

Like this:

Fictional writers are crazy (someone back me up here). We hear voices in our heads – they tell us their stories and we write those stories down. That’s crazy at its finest, people! So, when my head is occupied by a character that won’t leave me be it seems only right to try and get to know them. I do it by interviewing them. Yup, just me, my laptop and that squatter in my head – having a little chat. Here’s the questions I like to ask.

CHARACTER INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:

1. What’s your name?

2. How old are you?

3. What do you look like?

4. Do you have any friends?

5. What about family? Tell me about them.

6. Do you like to try new things?

7. Are you shy?

8. What scares you?

9. What makes you angry?

10. What do you do when you’re angry?

11. What’s your biggest secret?

12. Any hidden talents?

13. Who do you long for?

14. Have you ever been in love?

15. What are you most proud of?

When I interview my characters I let the voice in my head ramble, writing down every word. Their answers are eye opening! Some of the characters aren’t talkers, so their answers are short. Some ramble on for ever. Some are sarcastic and you can hear that in their replies. Others are serious and straightforward. I even find that as the character unfolds for me through these questions, I add on other questions – like “tell me about where you’re from” (especially for my fantasy characters). Or for my school based characters, I like to ask them about school.

These questions are really just a springboard to get the conversation started. They help me get to know my characters more intricately so I can write them in better detail, making them fuller and richer than they would have been otherwise.

Now it’s time to interview you -your answers can go in the comments below 😉 So… tell me how you get to know the characters living in your head? What’s your method?